United States Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and a bipartisan coalition of legislators sent a letter to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, asking him to request the Inspector General to investigate allegations of religious discrimination and mismanagement within the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center's Spiritual Ministry Department. The following is the text of the letter.
July 9, 2007
The Honorable Michael Leavitt
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Leavitt:
We are writing to express our serious concern about allegations of religious discrimination and systemic mismanagement within the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center's Spiritual Ministry Department. The former Director of the Department, the Reverend O. Raymond Fitzgerald, has been accused of anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic practices in his capacity as chief chaplain and leader of this department. Intolerance has no place at the National Institutes of Health, especially within the Spiritual Ministry Department. We are not convinced that NIH is treating the allegations with the appropriate degree of urgency. We strongly urge you to call upon the Department of Health and Human Services' Inspector General to investigate all allegations of impropriety and mismanagement in the NIH chaplain's office.
While he was director of the Spiritual Ministry Department, Rev. Fitzgerald reportedly instituted policies that were biased against Catholics and Jews. He organized schedules so that the Catholic chaplain could not minister to all of the Catholic patients in the hospital and he limited access to religious services for Orthodox Jewish patients. It is our understanding that when chaplains in the office protested his actions, Rev. Fitzgerald simply had them fired.
One victim of these retaliatory practices is the Reverend Henry Heffeman SJ., a Catholic priest, who was fired from the Spiritual Ministry Department in 2004. This past January, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirmed that Rev. Heffeman was the target of "discriminatory and retaliatory animus." In February, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ordered NIH to reinstate the Catholic chaplain. Two other chaplains, a Jewish Rabbi and a Greek Orthodox lay minister, have since come forward claiming that they were also wrongfully terminated by Rev. Fitzgerald as retaliation for their testifying in defense of Reverend Heffeman.
These same chaplains have testified that Rev. Fitzgerald is "very anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic." It has been reported that he told other chaplains he did not want Catholic priests or Jewish rabbis in the Department; others have reported that he has made derogatory comments towards the Catholic and Jewish chaplains at the hospital.
This type of discrimination against and mistreatment of colleagues of different faiths cannot be abided. While Rev. Fitzgerald has been replaced as Director of the Spiritual Ministry Department, we were distressed to learn that he is still employed by NIH as a chaplain.
We do not believe that the NIH management has acted sufficiently to remedy this serious matter. Even after the EEOC verified acts of discrimination and retaliation by Rev. Fitzgerald, the NIH appealed another decision of the Commission with respect to prior suspensions of Rev. Heffernan. The EEOC and MSPB decisions reversing Rev. Heffernan's termination and issuing findings of discrimination and retaliation were final as of February 2007. Now, nearly four months later, NIH has neither launched an investigation of Rev. Fitzgerald's egregious behavior, nor has it taken disciplinary actions against him or any other individuals responsible for this misconduct. Moreover, we are unaware of any procedures that NIH has implemented to ensure that this does not happen again.
It is our understanding that an ad hoc working group assembled under the NIH Advisory Board for Clinical Research will be reviewing the operation of the Spiritual Ministry Department. However, there have been no assurances from NIH that this group will examine the serious issues of religious discrimination and retaliation by the former head of the Spiritual Ministry, and the reasons for his continued employment by NIH. We also do not have any guarantees that this group has the authority to compel action on the part of the Spiritual Ministry Department.
This is a matter of personnel mismanagement - one involving great insensitivity. The Spiritual Ministry Department serves terminally ill patients at the NIH Clinical Center. For these individuals, many of whom are at the very end of their lives, spiritual ministry is vitally important. To have someone manipulate and interfere with that process and exhibit intolerance toward critically ill patients and their family members is unacceptable. The NIH administration must ensure that this situation, which involves appalling prejudice, is dealt with swiftly and firmly and not simply tolerated as it appears to have been to date.
We strongly urge you to call upon the Inspector General's office to lead an investigation into the accusations of severe mismanagement and evaluate standards of conduct within NIH's Spiritual Ministry Department. Pending the results of such an investigation, we call on you to take the appropriate actions and, if warranted, punitive measures to ensure that religious tolerance is promoted and protected at NIH.
The National Institutes of Health should not only care for the physical and mental health of its patients, but seek to improve their emotional and spiritual health as well. But first, they must do no harm. As part of the federal government, NIH should reflect American values and morals by promoting tolerance and acceptance among all races, cultures, and faiths. It is unacceptable for employees of NIH to cultivate prejudice and intolerance.
We look forward to your prompt reply.